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SXSW (@sxsw) (pronounced “south by southwest”), the annual Austin, Tex.-based festival of interactive ventures, music, and film, runs March 9-18, for another year’s presentations on innovation in technology, music, cinema, and new business platforms that will attract more than 20,000 attendees. SXSW Interactive runs March 9-13, focusing on books, publishing, and new media technology.

Panel presentations and discussions include “The Future of Lifestyle Media,” Making a Grand Entrance: How to Launch a Product,” and “The Present of Print: Paper’s Persistence.”

Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) editors Rachel Deahl (@DeahlsDeals) and Calvin Reid (@calreid) are moderating two panel discussions:

Publishing Models Transforming The Book, will examine how conventional publishing industry business models are being rearranged and reinvented, and how books and book content are being offered to consumers in the digital age. The panel features content entrepreneurs like Brian Altounian (@BrianAltounian), CEO of Wowio.com (@WOWIO) (announcing the rebranding of itself as Studio W), and Swanna McNair (@swannamac), founder of Creative Conduit. Also on-hand will be Molly Barton (@MollyBBarton), director of digital publishing and business development at Penguin (@penguinusa) / Book Country (@Book_Country), and Jefferson Raab, creative director at The Atavist (@theatavist).

And Reid will moderate the panel Discoverability and the New World of Book PR, organized by Austin based book media relations veterans Barbara Cave Henricks, founder of Cave Henricks Communications (@CaveHenricks) and Rusty Shelton (@RustyShelton), owner of Shelton Interactive as well as Hollis Heimbouch (@heimbouch), vp and publisher at Harper Business (@HarperCollins). The panel will examine book marketing and promotion at a time when physical bookstore shelf space is declining and more books are being released.

Read this in full.

Also see our previous blogpost “Discoverability in the Digital Age: Personal Recommendations and Bookstores.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you identify blue ocean strategy for your brand.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

In this article, senior writer and book critic for The New York Times (@nytimesbooks), Dwight Garner (@DwightGarner), spotlights Kindle Singles (submission policy): “works of long-form journalism (‘well researched, well argued, and well illustrated between 5,000 and 30,000 words’) that seek out that sweet spot between magazine articles and hardcover books. Amazon calls them ‘compelling ideas expressed at their natural length.’” Garner calls them “boutique mini-books” that may create a new genre: “long enough for genuine complexity, short enough to avoid adding journalistic starches and fillers.”

Amazon hardly has a monopoly on this novella-length form. Digital publishers like Byliner (@TheByliner) and The Atavist (@theatavist) are commissioning articles of this length that can be purchased and read on any e-reader, or on laptops or phones.

...Amazon offers 70% of the royalties to its Singles authors....So far Amazon has issued more than 160 Singles, at a rate of 3 per week....Barnes & Noble offers similar material in its Nook Snaps series, Apple has Quick Reads  on its iBookstore, and Kobo has Short Reads....

Read this in full.

See our previous blogposts, “Ebooks are the New Pamphlets” and "In the Year of the Ebook, 5 Lessons From  — and For  — News Organizations."

Also see paidContent’s (@paidContent) "E-Singles: ‘Journalism’s Extraordinary Challenges In An Entirely New Place’" and “Guide to E-singles”).

In keeping with the idea of short-form books or long-form articles (however you look at it), Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) has launched Christianity Today Essentials, a new series of “natural length ebooks,” described by editor-in-chief David Neff (@dneff) as content “longer than a longish magazine article, yet significantly shorter than the typical print book.” He says, “The format allows you, the reader, to go deeper and learn more than you could from a magazine article, without committing the time or money demanded by a full-length book.”

Leadership Network (@leadnet) is beginning a new series of “natural length experiences” under the brand Leadia (@leadiatalk). “Each piece is limited to 10,000 words and has live links to audio, video, and websites.” A Leadia app is available for iPhones and iPads.

And Patheos.com (@Patheos) has started Patheos Press, a “publisher of original ebooks.”

Capturing long-form content online is another aspect of this trend. Services such as Longreads (@longreads), Longform (@longform), and The Browser (@TheBrowser) help readers save and organize in-depth material on the Web.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you successfully navigate the world of digital publishing.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially see the list of self-publishers in the Publishers tab.

The Associated Press is talking up a new “visual identity system,” to be rolled out over the coming months (a historical retrospective of AP logos is shown above with the new logo on the right).

The global news network says the look and logo are designed for the digital era and are supposed to unite its various offerings as part of a “master brand” strategy. AP called this the first significant change in its look in 30 years. The first use is on its new AP Mobile news app and AP.org website (@AP). According to its brand introduction (pdf) document, the new visual identity system brings to life the AP values of “integrity, action, and independence...and creates a distinct footprint in the media marketplace.”

AP President/CEO Tom Curley says in the announcement, “We have world-class content and world-class products and now we have the world-class look to go with them.”

The system expands the range of colors and designs available for use in AP products and services. The logomark recognizes the past stencil pattern while the logotype is black with a red underscore, both in a white box. This design is by the firm Objective Subject (@ob_sub), which says the red underscore, dubbed ‘the prompt,’ “evokes AP’s emphasis on editorial rigor and precise and accurate approach.” It goes on, “We retained the original logo’s stencil lettering, which embody the gutsy and adventurous personality of an international news organization.”

The Associated Press Stylebook (@APStylebook) is considered to set the standard in journalistic (and public relations) spelling and grammar.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you establish or update your logomark to convey your brand’s true identity.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Religion News tab.

In this New York Times (@nytimestech) article, technology writer David Streitfeld spotlights a wooden warehouse in Richmond, CA, where copies of printed books are being stored in the hope of preserving literature in case of a digital catastrophe.

Forty-foot shipping containers stacked two by two are stuffed with the most enduring, as well as some of the most forgettable, books of the era. Every week, 20,000 new volumes arrive, many of them donations from libraries and universities thrilled to unload material that has no place in the Internet Age....

“We want to collect one copy of every book,” said Brewster Kahle, who has spent $3 million to buy and operate this repository situated just north of San Francisco. “You can never tell what is going to paint the portrait of a culture.”

As society embraces all forms of digital entertainment, this latter-day Noah is looking the other way. A Silicon Valley entrepreneur who made his fortune selling a data-mining company to Amazon.com in 1999, Mr. Kahle founded and runs the Internet Archive (@internetarchive), a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving Web pages — 150 billion so far — and making texts more widely available.

But even though he started his archiving in the digital realm, he now wants to save physical texts, too.

Read this in full.

If you’re a book lover like we (@smrsault) are, bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Author, speaker, and futurist Leonard Sweet (@lensweet) scouted this article in the World Future Society’s (@WorldFutureSoc) magazine, The Futurist (@Theyear2030) (March-April 2012): A Future of Fewer Words?: 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Language by Lawrence Baines (in an earlier article, Baines offered 6 manifestations of the retreat of the written word:

     1. The power of image-based media to influence thought and behavior;

     2. The tendency of newer technologies to obliterate aspects of older technologies;

     3. The current emphasis on school reform;

     4. The influences of advertising and marketing;

     5. The current state of books as repositories of the language; and

     6. The reconceptualization of the library.)

Members may log in and read online. Nonmembers may order the issue.

Sweet says,

I tried to say the same thing in chapter 9 of my upcoming book Viral ("Turning a Tin Ear to Poetry"), but Baines is more comprehensive and scientifically compelling. “As the world recedes from the written word and becomes inundated with multisensory stimuli (images, sound, touch, taste, and smell), the part of the human brain associated with language will regress. While visually astute and more aurally discriminating, the areas of the brain associated with language are also associated with critical thinking and analysis. So, as the corpus of language shrinks, the human capacity for complex thinking may shrink with it.”

“Losing polysyllabic words will mean a corresponding loss of eloquence and precision. Today, many of the most widely read texts emanate from blogs and social networking sites. Authors of these sites may be non-readers who have little knowledge of effective writing and may have never developed an ear for language.”

Read The Futurist article in full (membership required).

Read Baines’ earlier article (pdf).

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you navigate the changing communication scene to most effectively reach your consumers.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Futurist News tab.

According to a new survey of technology experts, teens and young adults brought up from childhood with a continuous connection to each other and to information will be nimble, quick-acting multitaskers who count on the Internet as their external brain and who approach problems in a different way from their elders.

Many of the experts surveyed by Elon University’s (@elonuniversity) Imagining the Internet Center and The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project (@pewinternet) say the effects of hyperconnectivity and the always-on lifestyles of young people will be mostly positive between now and 2020.

But the experts also predict this generation will exhibit a thirst for instant gratification and quick fixes, a loss of patience, and a lack of deep-thinking ability due to what one referred to as “fast-twitch wiring.”

Survey respondents say it’s vital to reform education and emphasize digital literacy. And a notable number say trends are leading to a future in which most people are shallow consumers of information, in danger of mirroring George Orwell’s 1984 of control by powerful interests in an age of entertaining distractions.

Read this report in full.

Also see our previous blogpost “Introducing Generation C: Americans 18-34 Are the Most Connected.”

How does this research and these predictions help you determine the future needs of your consumers and the ways you can publish life-changing content to meet those needs? Write your comments below.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you identify blue ocean strategy for your brand.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

The website Book Guys (@PaulTheBookGuy) discovered this article gem by Emily Temple, editor of flavorpill (@flavorpill). Despite grim news of brick-and-mortar bookstores closing, there are still bookshops open that are wonders to the eye and beckon customers to come see!

We can’t overestimate the importance of bookstores — they’re community centers, places to browse and discover, and monuments to literature all at once — so we’ve put together a list of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, from Belgium to Japan to Slovakia.

See the photos and read this in full.

Also see our blogposts, "20 More Beautiful Bookstores from Around the World" and "The 20 Coolest Bookstores in the World."

If you’re a book lover like we (@smrsault) are, bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

The American demographic landscape has changed significantly, as reflected in the 2010 US Census compiled by the US Census Bureau (@uscensusbureau). The shifts related to race, age, gender, ethnicity, geography, income, and other key marketing drivers profoundly impact the USA and how brands communicate their messages to target audiences. Adweek (@Adweek) has partnered with Draftfcb (@Draftfcb), to present The New America (@The_New_America), a website “dedicated to providing timely and topical news and insights on what the metrics mean for marketers, ad agencies, publishers, and technology companies.”

A few articles of interest:

·         Higher Numbers for Higher Education: More than 30% of adults now have bachelor’s degrees

·         Multigenerational Households: Number of children living with a grandparent increases

·         Coming of Age in the Down Economy: Pew finds young Americans are underemployed but optimistic

·         Man Down: The future isn’t rosy for American males

·         An Unmarried Boomer: The growing number of middle-ages singles has significant implications

·         5 Discoveries from the 2010 Decennial Census That Advertisers Should Know:

     1.    The US population is an older one.

     2.    We are an ethnic soup spread throughout the country.

     3.    The growth of the Latino population is substantial.

     4.    Multiracial identification is growing.

     5.    Internal migration from the North and East to the South and West continues.

See The New America.

How will these changes influence your publishing agenda in the coming months and years? Write your comments below.

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you analyze demographics to maximize your brand’s marketing communication strategy.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily our SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Research tab.

L2 Think Tank (@L2_ThinkTank) reports that, according to Union Square Ventures Partner Andy Weissman (@aweissman), we’re moving into “the ambient computer age,” where our connected devices are becoming smaller and more powerful. The implications of this changes our media habits, the way we socialize, and much more. In an attempt to quantify this impact, Weissman outlines the 8 places in our lives where mobile will have the biggest near-future impact on investment:

Reading – A new breed of mobile-primary reading formats are emerging that allow us to consumer and share media in new and different ways.

Social – Our always-on devices give us instant access to sharing at all times.

Payments – In Japan people are already paying for subway rides with their mobile devices. Before long we’ll be using what was formerly a voice device for transactions, and this trend is already well underway in the United States.

Learning – We can now absorb information from our mobile phones and use the classroom as a venue for discussion and collaboration.

Location-Based Innovation – One in 3 searches on mobile devices have local intent.

Media – Facebook holds the biggest archive of photos in the world. Media in the mobile world is fundamentally conversational.

Blurring – The smartphones we keep with us on our hip at all times create a blurring effect in the world of connectedness. We’re no longer just connected on our laptops, but wired-in everywhere.

Medicine – Today patients share data and information with doctors in real-time.

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you take advantage of mobile trends to advance your brand.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Novelist Ann Patchett discusses on The Colbert Report the importance of brick-and-mortar bookstores and explains what prompted her to open Parnassus Books (@ParnassusBooks1) in Nashville.